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Monday, April 14, 2014

Shenkin Kitchen, Enmore

With the original cafe located in Erskineville and an Espresso bar in the middle of the busy side of King Street, Shenkin has been a notable part of the Inner West cafe scene with Shenkin Kitchen opening in Enmore early last year. It boasts a similar menu to Cafe Shenkin which should be good for those who spend more time in Newtown/Enmore area than in the quieter Erskineville area. Unlike your usual brunch fare like bacon and eggs, pancakes and whatnot, Shenkin Kitchen offers an all day brunch fare mostly consisting of dishes inspired by the Middle Eastern (Israeli) and Meditteranean cuisines. And it's open for dinner from Wednesday to Saturday too!

The cafe has that usual buzzing atmosphere with an industrial looking fitout with wooden brown being the main colour across the venue. Since it was a rainy Sunday afternoon, the venue was quite cramped and it was hard to get a table especially for 4 people. Initially we had to sit outside close to the pouring rain but thankfully a table was available not long after we sat down.

I had my usual mocha coffee made with Mecca coffee beans. This version had a rich and lovely scented aroma with a bitter taste. Nice to have on a cool day.

Milk Chocolate Mocha ($4.00)

After looking at many photos of the dish on various reviews of this cafe, it was no surprise that I had to go with the shakshuka with added chorizo. The shakshuka It was presented to us in a hot pan (so hot that you cannot touch the pan under any circumstances!) and two loaves of pita bread. Initially I thought the eggs were baked but they were actually poached in a heavy base of rich tomato, capsicum and garlic sauce. This dish had a very intense and zesty flavour filled with various spices like cumin and tumeric. This will bring lots of excitement to the tastebuds - if you can handle it. There was plenty of juicy and firm chorizo sausages to enjoy which is perfect for me. The pita bread was a bit harder and more crusty in terms of texture but still perfect to dip into the egg yolk and the heavy sauce. Very generous serving for one person alone but I managed to finish it.

Shakshuka with Chorizo ($19.00)

CC and S both decided on the shakshuka with eggplant and haloumi mainly because of their love for haloumi and eggplant. They both thought that the flavours were way too strong to handle so they both struggled with finishing up their plates. While there was a bit of eggplant, there was barely any haloumi which was disappointing for them. I guess in terms of the flavours for this dish, it is something that you will get used to depending on what your taste buds can handle.

Shakshuka with Grilled Eggplant and Haloumi ($19.00)

MT decided to be different and went with the Portuguese omelette filled with chorizo, Spanish onion, tomato and herbs. While I didn't have a bite, he said that he was very satisfied with this rustic dish and wouldn't mind ordering it again next time.

Portuguese Omelette ($17.00)

Personally I really enjoyed my food and coffee experience but if strong, robust flavours aren't your thing then there are many other dishes to enjoy on the menu beside the shakshuka. While we were eating our meals, CC was constantly staring at the grilled chicken wrap nearby so we will most likely be returning to try that out. Since the weather is getting cooler, it looks like I will be making more visits to Shenkin Kitchen or even the sister branches nearby for their warm comfort food in the upcoming months.